WISCONSIN SAFE OPERATION OF
TRACTOR AND MACHINERY
CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS
Cheryl A. Skjolaas
Interim Director and Agricultural Safety Specialist
UW Madison/Extension Center for Agricultural Safety and Health
Phone: 608-265-0568
skjolaas@wisc.edu
http://fyi.uwex.edu/tractorcert
US Department of Labor
www.dol.gov/whd
http://www.osha.gov
COMPLETE EXEMPTION
Complete Child Labor Exemptions
Youth of any age may be employed at any time,
in any occupation in agriculture on a farm
owned or operated by their parent or person
standing in place of their parent.
Vocational Agriculture Program
Exemptions from Hazardous Order Prohibitions
With the exception of the parental exemption explained above, there are only a
few exemptions from the hazardous occupations in agriculture and they apply
only to 14- and 15-year-olds. The circumstances where 14- and 15-year-olds
may be employed in certain hazardous occupations are:
Student-learners in a bona fide vocational agriculture program may work in Ag
H.O. # 1 through #6, under a written agreement which provides that:
• Work is incidental to the training;
• Work shall be intermittent, for short periods of time, and under
the direct and close supervision of a qualified, experienced
person;
• School shall give safety instruction coordinated by the employer
with on-the-job training; and
• A schedule of organized and progressive work processes to be
performed on the job has been prepared.
Federal Extension Training Program
14- or 15-year-olds who hold certificates of completion of the 4-H
Federal Extension Training Programs for tractor operation and/or
machine operation may work in occupations listed in HO/A# 1 and
#2 for which they have been trained, provided that the youth:
• Has been instructed by his or her employer on safe and proper
operation of the specific equipment to be used; and
• Is continuously and closely supervised by the employer where
feasible; or, where not feasible, is checked for safety by the
employer at least at mid-morning, noon, and mid-afternoon.
Employers must keep copies of written agreements and
certificates under these programs.
WI Difference (1994)
• Youth working for parent or guardian
• Operating on public road (any WI hwy
receiving public funds)
• Must be 12 to enroll in the program
• Traing equivalent to the Federal Program
• WI Certificate
HO/A 1
Operating a tractor of over 20 PTO (PowerTake-Off) horsepower, or connecting or
disconnecting implements or parts to such a
tractor.
HO/A 2
Operating or helping to operate any of the following
machines (operating includes starting, stopping,
adjusting, or feeding the machine or any other activity
involving physical contact with the machine):
(a) Corn picker, cotton picker, grain combine, hay
mower, forage harvester, hay baler, potato digger, or
mobile pea viner;
(b) Feed grinder, crop dryer, forage blower, auger
conveyor, or the unloading mechanism of a non-gravitytype self-unloading wagon or trailer; or,
(c) Power post-hole digger, power post driver, or
nonwalking-type rotary tiller.
HO/A #3
Operating, or assisting to operate any of
the following machines (operating
includes starting, stopping, adjusting, or
feeding the machine, or any other
activity involving physical contact with
the machine):
(a) Trencher or earthmoving
equipment;
(b) Fork lift;
(c) Potato combine; or,
(d) Power-driven circular, band, or chain
saw.
HO/A 4
Working on a farm in a yard,
pen, or stall occupied by a:
(a) Bull, boar, or stud horse
maintained for breeding
purposes; or
(b) Sow with suckling pigs, or
cow with newborn calf with
umbilical cord present.
HO/A 5
Loading, unloading, felling, bucking, or
skidding timber with a butt (large end)
diameter of more than 6 inches.
HO/A 6
Working from a ladder or
scaffold at a height of over 20
feet (working includes
painting, repairing, or
building structures, pruning
trees, picking fruit, etc.).
HO/A 7
Driving a bus, truck, or
automobile when transporting
passengers, or riding on a
tractor as a passenger or
helper.
HO/A 8
Working inside:
(a) A fruit, forage (feed), or grain storage
structure designed to retain an oxygen deficient
or toxic atmosphere - for example, a silo where
fruit is left to ferment;
(b) An upright silo within 2 weeks after silage
(fodder) has been added or when a top
unloading device is in operating position;
(c) A manure pit; or,
(d) A horizontal silo while operating a tractor
for packing purposes.
HO/A 9
Handling or applying agricultural chemicals if
the chemicals are classified under the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act as
Toxicity Category I -- identified by the word
"Danger" and/or "Poison" with skull and
crossbones; or Toxicity Category II -- identified
by the word "Warning" on the label. (Handling
includes cleaning or decontaminating
equipment, disposing of or returning empty
containers, or serving as a flagman for aircraft
applying agricultural chemicals.)
HO/A 10
Handling or using a blasting agent
including, but not limited to dynamite,
black powder, sensitized ammonium
nitrate, blasting caps and primer cord.
HO/A 11
Transporting, transferring, moving, or
applying anhydrous ammonia (dry
fertilizer).
Web Resource
http://fyi.uwex.edu/tractorcert
Subscribe to site
Password for 2015: WItmc15
New UWEX videos
Tractor Safety Series Opening: http://youtu.be/CneoqwACg_U
Pre-Operation/Inspection: http://youtu.be/VC2Kf76fI8s
Instrument Panels and Controls: http://youtu.be/mo59qBwagXg
Starting and Stopping: http://youtu.be/KYmwW80gqLU
Distractions: http://youtu.be/GiKFLnKxe5M
Human Factors: http://youtu.be/nvahX7MwYUg
Field Operation: http://youtu.be/zlVFDnrId8M
Highway Operation: http://youtu.be/EY7gIpzlBUM
PTOs/Hydraulics/3 Point Hitches/Drawbars: http://youtu.be/rt4_vYcGMWM
Loader Safety: http://youtu.be/U3ouou1dByI
Credits: http://youtu.be/6_XeIjsGf0s
How do we update program
Curriculum
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Online
Classroom
Hands on
Book HOSTA UWEX Learning Store/HOBAR Publishing
Written Exams
Instructor requirements
Risk management